little peanut

it should be no surprise that addison was stubborn today during her ultrasound. i wonder where she gets that from?!? 
she is either really shy or wants us to be patient & wait to get a realllllly good glimpse of her when she makes her grand entrance. it's ok because she put on quite a show for us & definitely gave us some good laughs. 
thankfully my mum & mother-in-law were at the ultrasound with us to see her silly antics. once again my sweet baby girl was caught with her foot in her mouth.  we are all assuming she is going to like a pacifier because she spent an awful lot of time sucking the umbilical cord, her thumb, her toes, etc.  for almost 30 minutes she had something in her mouth, lol. 
she is head down & has begun migrating into my pelvis. she is still favoring my right side & was nestled up against it the majority of the ultrasound. every ultrasound we've had she's had a hand by her face but today she not only had her hand by her face but she was grasping her lower leg & some how had it up by her head.  
i am pretty sure she is practicing yoga inside of me with some of the crazy positions we caught her in today.  
she is a little peanut, only measuring in the 34th percentile.  she only weighed 3 lbs 3 oz today. the ultrasound tech said not to worry, she is just going to be a tiny baby & estimated that she will probably weigh 6 lbs give or take a few oz. even though she is teeny tiny she still has chubby little cheeks. at one point the position she was in made it looked like she had a double chin. we got 53 photos & 4 movies, here are a few of my favorites:

 she has her little mouth open as she was taking her fingers out. the hand is distorted by movement

 she was clenching her fist really tight here 

 she kept sucking in on her bottom lip & squeezing her fist tight like she was frustrated we were poking her

 her little feet. it's hard to tell because her hand is distorted but she was grabbing her toes 

 the only full face glimpse we got that is slightly distorted by movement 

she was trying to suck on the umbilical cord here. you can sort of see her tongue

 look at the chunky cheeks

sucking her fingers

9 weeks until Addison

 

 i haven't put any side belly shots on here in a while so i figured i'd post one.  philip took this of me today on his iphone. 

labor/birth class

we attended our 1st labor/birth class last evening.  both of us, especially philip, were beyond excited, until 5 minutes into the class.  i am crossing my fingers that it improves because i am not sure i'll be able to take it for 2 hours every tuesday night for the next 5 weeks.
we started the class facing each other & for 15 minutes discussed our "birth expectations", my expectations of philip/his expectations of what his role will be, who will be in the room during the phases of labor, etc.  maybe it's just us but that is something we have discussed at great length outside of the class. considering the magnitude of those decisions i would really hope that the 11 other couples have already talked about that!?!
next she had us go around the room & name adjectives we associated with the word "birth" & then had to discuss them as a class for another 10 or 15 minutes. the crazy thing is, she totally invalidated people when they named words & made them justify why they would think that.
i was feeling a little confused at this point because an hour into the class we heard more about the instructor's experience with her mother & mother in law during her labor process then anything else. not to mention she was totally pushy with her own agenda.  i thought this was a class to prepare us for labor & to give us tools to equip us throughout the process?!? not an instructor's OPINIONS & her personal birth experience.
i am not even sure what the credentials of the instructor are are other than she has 4 kids. she wasn't an RN, she wasn't a provider, she wasn't a doula, she wasn't a midwife...hmmm. she was EXTREMELY biased & ANTI epidural.  she actually used an epidural as an example of an unnecessary medical intervention. then proceeded to mislead the class that having an epidural is the only way you have an iv or received iv fluids. i am all for being educated & knowing your options but not misleading people for your own personal agenda.  she also bashed people who have inductions at 40-41 weeks instead of waiting until the 42nd week mark.
it was VERY hard for me to bite my tongue but i sat on my hands & just listened.

i am hoping next tuesday is better! 

10 weeks until Addison

God took the strength of a mountain,

The majesty of a tree,

The warmth of a summer sun,

The calm of a quiet sea,

The generous soul of nature,

The comforting arm of night,

The wisdom of the ages,

The power of the eagles in flight,

The joy of a morning in spring,

The faith of a mustard seed,

The patience of eternity,

The depth of a family need,

Then God combined these qualities,

And there was nothing more to add,

He knew his masterpiece was complete,

And He called it – Dad.”

-Author unknown

6 years ago

6 years ago today we said "i do". who know 6 years would go by so fast? it is a complete understatement to say how thankful & BLESSED i am.  i am so thankful that of all the people God could have paired us with, he perfectly paired us together.  philip is more than i could have every prayed for & imagined as the person i would share my life with. he is the perfect depiction of patience. he is levelheaded (which i am not) & never rarely gets angry. he is the most gentle, loving soul. he is incredibly talented & creative. he is kind & thoughtful, constantly putting my needs before his. he is passionate & driven. he is a wonderful husband & best friend...lucky, lucky me to be the one he chose. 

i am so excited that he is going to be my daughter's daddy.  if he loves addison a 10th of how much he loves me he will far exceed the expectations i have for him as a father.  

over the last 6 years we've had quite a few curve balls thrown our way & if it wasn't for philip i don't think i could have made it through.  the past 3 years were extremely difficult with the last year pushing us to our limits. we are stronger for it & would even say this last year was the best year of our marriage despite the circumstances. he stayed strong, held fast to his faith & was the perfect partner to journey such an uncertain path with. 

thank you for always believing & seeing past current circumstances & painting such a beautiful picture for the future. 

thank you for encouraging me & making me laugh despite the trial.

thank you for always making me feel beautiful inside and out.

thank you for providing me with a safety that makes me look forward to sleeping beside you every night. 

thank you for still giving me goosebumps!

happy 6th wedding anniversary, i love love love you!

summer lovin

as i laid out at the pool today all i could think about is that next year at this time i will have my nine month old baby girl...wow!  i have mastered laying on my stomach, with the assistance of my float of course.  i am sure my neighbors think i am crazy but i am embracing my pregnant body at 7 months & my belly deserves a little sunshine too! 

the results of my of my glucose test were as i suspected...no evidence of gestational diabetes.  they told me to start taking an iron supplement because i am anemic.  i have been in the past & have always equated it to not eating red meat. i'll try the iron supplement without adding red meat to my diet but if the results don't improve i guess addison will have her first taste of steak.   

11 weeks until Addison

addison now weighs approximately 2 1/2 lbs & is just over 15 inches long...CRAZY!?! baby center compares her to a butternut squash this week. she is still so tiny but so growing so much.  

i had an OB appointment this past week & things are great. it was no shocker that my blood pressure was 89/42 at my appointment considering how lightheaded i have been feeling. my OB just encouraged me to change positions slowly & assured me that it wasn't anything to worry about.  i had my glucola test & that wasn't nearly as bad as people made it out to be. i do not anticipate the results coming back indicating gestational diabetes but i get the results monday. i got my rhogam injection...probably gave the nurse a good laugh at how anxious i was about getting a shot & surely bending over the table & dropping my pants gave philip a good laugh. my OBGYN encouraged me to continue running as long as i feel good & listen to my body.  she did say she anticipated that it will be too uncomfortable to spin after 34 weeks & will probably make me contract but told me i could keep doing that for now. i feel awesome! my energy seems to fade a lot faster than it did during my second trimester but that could be secondary to my incessant peeing & tossing & turning at night.


we are scheduled for our "big" 4d ultrasound on june 28th (32nd week).  i can't wait to see her & can't even begin to imagine how much she has changed since we saw her at 24 weeks. 

the nursery is continuing to come a long. it's so amazing to watch a vision come to life. we went to charlotte over the weekend to pick up a few things for the baby's room & our mission was accomplished.  we picked up a floating shelf & a light fixture.  i also picked up paper mache letters that spell addison that i am going to cover in turquoise & pink yarn. i had to come up with a plan B because urban outfitters is out of several of the letters i need to spell her name out.

we have been BUSY! 

 

12 weeks until Addison

nesting

i am totally nesting (or so i am told). yesterday i did 3 loads of laundry...just for addison. i washed her crib bedding, swaddling blankets, burp clothes, wash cloths, 0-3 months onesies/sleepers/ clothes.  i don't think i have ever been so excited to do laundry before!?! it was definitely a reality check...i am sure she has more than she'll need & i haven't even had a shower yet.  no more buying clothes for her...for awhile at least, unless it's ridiculously adorable & a steal.

i picked up a few accessories for her room this week as well. philip & i have decided on bubblegum pink as the "pop" of color for her room. i know...who would have thought i would have chosen pink? i am not anti-pink but i hate how it's an expectation for a little girl & how literal it is. i think it fits quite nice with her teal/grey/cream color scheme.

i picked this up at target.  

this is the print i bought off ETSY from apple blossom prints

i got this for like $12 at target in their clearance isle

(you can see how wrinkled the bedskirt got when i washed it...i need to press it)

some accent pillows for the room. these are actually being re-purposed (we had them around the house) the round pillows are from west elm & the long pillow is from homegoods.

i keep a little notebook with questions i think of to ask at OB appointments (they usually come to mind right after i walk out of the office & visits has been every 4 weeks).  this past week i added a list of things to take to the hospital for me & addison.  it's a "just incase". philip knows where to find the book & it gives me a little peace of mind.  i know, i am totally crazy.  

nursery progress

here are a few pics of the progress in the nursery.  things that have been accomplished so far:

-walls have been painted

-quatrefoil decals on appropriate walls

-crib is put together

-dresser is refinished & new knobs installed

-both sets of curtains are up

there are still quite a few things to get done but most of it is in the works. 

a) the window seat should be installed in the next 2 weeks. (it's going to be cream with cream paneling with a teal cushion & grey/cream accent pillows) 

b)the changing table should arrive in the next 2 weeks. it's cream & grey. we are installing the same knobs as the dresser.

c) fingers crossed oh baby! calls to let us know the chair we ordered arrived at their warehouse.  we ordered it at 20 weeks & she said it could take 8-12 weeks.

d) bedding (we already have) needs to be washed & put in it's place

-we still need to buy the letters from urban outfitters that will spell addison that we are hanging above her dresser.  

-i still need to find an table lamp & new light fixture. 

 the colors are not true & the crib isn't where it's going to stay

obviously the stroller will be moved & that is where the changing table will go.  the rocker/glider with ottoman & pedestal table will be on the wall to the right of the stroller

apple blossom prints made a 8x10 print using pink & teal that says "A" is for addison. i need to pick up large frame with large matted surface from ikea. that will go on this wall.  this wall just needs a little color